When the WRC Repco Rally New Zealand kicks off in Auckland next weekend from September 29 to October 2 , back in the field will be a record breaking young Rangiora girl.
Bella Haggarty 14, of Rangiora will be the youngest co-driver in the field when her and her father Sean Haggarty line up in their Subaru WRX for the start of this world rally event.
But this won’t be the first time she has guided her dad around a rally course because Bella took up the challenge in the co-drivers seat nearly two years ago.
‘‘Dad sort of asked me if I would like to try it out and I loved it,’’ she said.
She achieved her R Grade licence at 13 and in her first year the pair won the Classic 4WD category of the NZRC 2021 Group A Rally Challenge.
The role of the co-driver is to read route instructions to the driver from a road book which details intersections and any hidden hazards on the course.
It’s a language all of its own.
At the WRC event next weekend this will involve Bella learning how to interpret a full road book of notes and compare them to those she will make during two practise reconnaissance runs she and Sean will make through all the rally stages before they even start.
‘‘It’s going to be a lot of hard work, but it’s all about clarity and timing,’’ she said.
‘‘Dad says I must give him clear and concise instructions about every corner, they must be loud and clear and correct because how he drives rests solely with me.’’
Sean says that burden of responsibility is backed up by strong feelings of trust by both him and Bella in each others abilities.
‘‘When we drive we change from being dad and daughter to partners, trusting each other to do their job properly.
‘‘She’s very serious about her notes and I respect that,’’ he said.
Belle says her first couple of rallies were very nerve wracking and stressful but now she loves it.
‘‘With next weeks rally there is still so much to do and somehow I have to fit it all into my school work as a year 10 student at St Margaret's.
‘‘Dad’s fun to rally with and I really love all the road trips him and I go on, just the pair of us in the van with the car on the trailer behind us.’’
When asked about car sickness — the terror of co-drivers — Bella calmly says she has never suffered from it.
‘‘My head is on a swivel the whole time we are rallying, it so crazy as there is so much to do as a co-driver, so I don’t suffer from it at all, however dad gets it real bad when he is a passenger.’’
She says her friends think it’s cool that she co-drives and she admits that when she can finally get her car licence she wants to switch seats.
